1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to holders for fishing rods.
2. Description of the Related Art
Over the years, several arrangements have been proposed for supporting a fishing rod in a stationary position. Such arrangements may be mounted to a boat, or pier. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,495,721 discloses a rod holder assembly adapted for use with a down rigger. The assembly includes a cup for receiving the handle of a fishing rod, the cup being biased into position by a pair of helical springs secured to the cup with a swingable or pivotable mounting. The springs operate to move the fishing rod into a position over a boat. This arrangement is somewhat costly to produce, and is made of a relatively large number of parts. However, the cost and complexity of the system may be small in comparison to the down rigger with which the device is intended to be used.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,395 discloses a down rigger boom hinge for pivotally mounting down rigger booms. The hinge includes a cam portion which brings stepped locking edges of the hinge parts into interlocking engagement with one another.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,000,599 discloses a fishing rod holder including a hollow cylinder for receiving a fishing rod handle. The cylinder is pinned to an upstanding rigid support member having a rounded edge and detents at different angular positions of the mounting. A locking pin inserted through the cylinder engages the various detents of the upright mounting, thus locking the cylinder at a desired angular position.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,373,414 discloses an adjustable flagstaff holder in which a device for engaging a flag has a bifurcated mounting end with opposed legs spaced apart so as to receive an upright mounting member therebetween. The upright mounting member has a series of notches angularly disposed for different angular positions of the flag. The upright mounting member is itself mounted for movement in a horizontal plane. The adjustment of the flagstaff from one angular position to another is difficult, and requires considerable manual strength and dexterity to unlock the bifurcated holder, swing the holder to different angular positions, and then thrust the holder into a new notch.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,093,171 discloses a fishing rod holder in which a cylinder has a lower end received between the walls of an upstanding bracket. The cylinder has its lower end ground at an acute angle to the central axis of the cylinder so as to provide the necessary clearance when adjusting the cylinder to different angles of elevation.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,918,237 discloses a cylinder for receiving a fishing rod handle with a bottom end formed with bevelled cuts so as to form a pair of spaced walls protruding from one end of the cylinder body. An upright rigid support is received between the cylinder walls and has a pair of horizontally-spaced, rounded surfaces. The cylinder can be locked at different angular positions, by swinging the cylinder about the rigid mounting, so that the cylinder engages a portion of the rigid mounting adjacent one rounded surface and/or another. The cylinder is movable through a vertical position; however, it does not appear to be stable in the vertical position due to the geometry and rounded, upper surface of the rigid mounting member.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,097,017 discloses a fishing rod holder having a generally T-shaped movable head with an upper concave surface to which the handle of a fishing rod can be lashed. The T-shaped head includes a downwardly opening cylindrical stub portion having a cutout at one lateral edge. A post having a tapered end is received in the cylinder stub portion. The head may be rocked between a generally horizontal position and a single predefined position at an acute angle to the horizon, with the stub portion engaging the bevelled tip of the post. In a second embodiment, the head has wing tabs receivable in a cutout portion of an upright rigid support. The wing tabs interfere with the support to define generally vertical and generally horizontal positions of the fishing rod.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,693,660 discloses a C-clamp having a rounded corner in which are formed a plurality of apertures aligned along a circular arc. A mounting member pinned to the C-clamp carries a locking pin insertable in one of a series of apertures to lock the fishing rod holder at a desired angular position.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,112 discloses a cylinder for receiving a fishing rod handle, mounted alongside a vertically oriented mounting plate. An arcuate cutout in the mounting plate receives a threaded fastener inserted through the cylinder, which locks the cylinder at a desired angular position.
The above-mentioned fishing rod holders either have a limited range of motion or provide multiple angular positions for locking a fishing rod holder, more than are usually desired, at the expense of increasing the complexity and cost of the device. An improved fishing rod holder having a carefully defined number of locking positions, which can be economically fabricated from a minimum number of inexpensive parts, is still being sought after.